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It is 6am on a Sunday morning and I am writing a blog post. Crazy? Yes, but this is one of the few times in the day I don’t feel guilty about working. Everybody is asleep, the house is quiet, and the only other thing I would really be doing is walking the dog. Sorry Coop!
Last month I went to an intensive business workshop put on by the Professional Photographers of America. After the crazy busy year I had last year I knew I needed to work on the business side of photography. I came back with all sorts of new ideas, but the biggest one was that I need to set myself a schedule and balance my life better.
This summer is the best example of why I need a good schedule. It is hard to do anything regularly in the summer. We’ve gone on four different mini vacations that take planning, packing and then enjoying. Mix in the middle of that all of the fun activities the kids want to do and it doesn’t leave much time for work. Either I am feeling guilty about sitting at my desk and working or I am feeling stressed out about the work that needs to be done while I am off doing activities with my girls. Basically I’m not doing either one very well.
When I lamented about this problem to Mr. Fun he pointed out that I am a working Mom and just because I am lucky enough to do it from home doesn’t mean that I have to feel guilty about setting aside the time. Of course that sounds good but I am a Mom and I am good at guilt!
Why is it that I have always ignored the ‘finding balance’ portions of the workshops I’ve attended? Probably because this is the hardest part for me to fix. I want to fit all of my clients in. I want to spend more time with each of them to create exactly what they want and need. I want to volunteer to take pictures of all the staff members at my kids’ schools. I want to go to all the soccer games. I want to volunteer to raise money for schools. I want to go cheer on the Huskies. (Notice that laundry and vacuuming didn’t make the list.) Unfortunately my work busy season coincides with my family’s busy season. Ugh!
With that said, I am going to be taking less sessions in the fall so I can spend more time with those clients I do photograph and have more time with my family too. Eek! Change is scary but welcome.
Two weeks ago I took the girls roller skating. It has been forever since we’ve gone and the girls were really excited. It’s hard to find your balance on old school roller skates. There was lots of arm flailing and falling at the start, but by the end of the session they were getting around smoothly. I’m in the arm flailing stage right now, but by the fall I’m hoping to be rolling along like a well oiled machine. In fact, I’m thinking that I’ll be ready for a triple sow cow by the time school starts.